SINGAPORE: More underage teenagers in Singapore view
casual sex as being normal and acceptable.
The Attorney General, Professor Walter Woon, addressed
this issue at the third Children's Society Lecture on
Saturday.
He said the job for the prosecution becomes even tougher when two
minors engage in casual sex.
Modern technology and the Internet have played a part in the
changing mindsets of young people in Singapore.
Carol Balhetchet, director of youth services, Singapore Children's
Society, said: "The media in various forms is giving that message
that it's cool to be quite open about your sexuality. They tend to
experiment and try out, literally try it out, and if you are not in
the group that has tried it out, then you are not cool."
Prof Woon said young people are becoming more open with their
sexuality, with some even thinking that casual sex is inevitable.
As such, legal cases that are emerging have become complex, with
some minors even going to the extent of soliciting sexual
services.
Prof Woon said: "As what I see from some of the cases that come
across my desk, they go out and solicit these contacts. In one
case, she solicited it in her own home, not far from where I
live.....It is not just the girls, but the boys (too)... male
prostitute who went on the Internet, gay chatroom to earn
money...."
When it comes to cases involving two minors engaging in casual sex,
Prof Woon said the law may not be enough to deal with the issue.
"It is not easy and this is where the NGOs, the community services
play a part. Obviously, it is not just for the judges. The judges
cannot do very much by themselves.
"There has to be some follow-up. Even if you send the boy to jail,
or the girl to jail, or both of them to jail, there has got to be
something done.
"Sending them to jail per se would not make them reflect on their
lives. That is the last thing that is going to happen. But good or
ill, this is the framework that we have."
The problem of underage teenagers engaging in sexual activities
have seen an upward trend in recent years.
Cases involving consensual sex with a girl under 14, which amounts
to statutory rape, have nearly doubled over the last five years -
from over 160 cases five years ago to 300 cases this year.
Prof Woon said there could be more, as these were just cases that
were reported.
- CNA/ir